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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562714">New Beginnings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MovesLikeBucky/pseuds/MovesLikeBucky'>MovesLikeBucky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the lion and the adder [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Omens - Neil Gaiman &amp; Terry Pratchett</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Aziraphale Fell Instead of Crowley (Good Omens), Angel Crowley (Good Omens), Demon Aziraphale (Good Omens), Garden of Eden, Gen, He's Ezra, He's Gadreel, They might be reversed but they are the same!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:49:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,014</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MovesLikeBucky/pseuds/MovesLikeBucky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's just as the story goes, so they say.  An angel in a garden, a demon joining him there.  But the roles are shifted, the circumstances change.  But no matter what universe, they are still them.  Even in wildly different circumstances.</p><p>Or Gadreel and Ezra meet in the garden</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aziraphale &amp; Crowley (Good Omens)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the lion and the adder [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170878</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Ouida’s Reverse Book Omens</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>New Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/OuidaMForeman/gifts">OuidaMForeman</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Am I just going to keep writing things for these Reverse Bois? Yes. Ouida is an enabler and I love them and I will continue writing these bois as long as they let me xD xD</p><p>And there's art of these Eden bois!  Plz go give them some love <a href="https://ouidasart.tumblr.com/post/643513930580410368/i-doodled-more-of-my-reverse-boys-this-time-in"><strong>HERE</strong></a> because they are baby!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was a nice day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the days had been nice. There had been rather more than seven of them so far, and rain hadn’t quite been invented yet. But clouds had amassed as clouds were (or would be, as it were) prone to do, and the first drops had fallen on the Garden of Eden, and the angel Gadreel, Serpent of the Eastern Gate, had coiled up in the Tree of Life, hiding amongst the leaves to keep dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a huff from below him, as the only other ethereal (or in this case, occult) being made his way towards the tree and the shelter of its leaves. Gadreel uncoiled himself, slithering past the apples and down the bark, into the cool and wet grass. He started to make conversation, but the demon bristled, shaking from head to toe, slinging water everywhere before rolling his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry?” the demon said politely. “What was it you were saying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gadreel shifted into a more human shape, wiggling his scaly toes in the cold wet grass and stretching his amber wings before attempting to wring out his robes. “Ah, I just sssaid, that one went down like a lead balloon.” These human lips were inefficient and clunky, and Gadreel was having trouble banishing the hiss from his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes, it rather did,” said the demon, whose name was Ezra. Gadreel thought he was a funny sight, with his fluffy brown wings, clawed feet, and fuzzy tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surely it was an overreaction,” Gadreel said, trying to stop the cacophony of his own stilted and anxious thoughts. “I mean, it is their first offense and everything. What’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It must </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad,” reasoned Ezra, in a way that was far too knowing for Gadreel’s tastes. “Otherwise downstairs wouldn’t have put me up to it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Downstairs? The Tree?” Gadreel felt his heartrate skyrocket, “Oh dear, oh dear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Though it would appear someone beat me to the punch,” Ezra continued, seemingly oblivious to Gadreel’s current state. “By the time I got here, they were already speaking of a snake convincing them to eat from the Tree.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t! I didn’t! I told them </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to!” Gadreel shouted, already tired of this particular demon’s company, not that he should want to be in the company of any demons in the first place. “Eve said the fruit would kill them! I said to her — I said well, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>ridiculous,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you won’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span> from it, your eyes will just be opened and you’ll know the difference between good and evil, but definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t eat it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ezra stared at him, one fluffy eyebrow arched and arms crossed across his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all a pantomime, isn’t it?” Gadreel asked, gesticulating wildly, “I mean, pointing out the Tree and saying “Don’t Touch” in big letters. Not subtle at all! Why not put it on top of a high mountain, or on the moon? Not right where they could get to it! Makes me wonder what They’re really up to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, best not to speculate there, </span>
  <em>
    <span>angel</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” said Ezra, “You can’t go around second-guessing the Almighty, won’t end well for you. There’s what they say is Right and what is Wrong; if you do Wrong when you’re told to do Right, you deserve to be punished.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was said with sarcasm and vitriol, not as an endorsement but more as a stance. A very subtle fuck-off to the universe that Gadreel could appreciate. Self-preservation had always been his thing. They sat in embarrassed silence, watching the rain bruise the flowers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually Gadreel said, “Didn’t you have a flaming sword or something? Some kind of weapon, I’m sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…well—“ Ezra stuttered, a sudden guilty expression passed across his face before coming back and settling there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did! I saw it!” Gadreel said, “It flamed like anything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you see—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>impressive, what with the Hellfire and all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lost it, have you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What! No, I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>lose</span>
  </em>
  <span>—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then? Where is it? Never seen a demonic weapon up close, might be nifty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ezra heaved a resigned sigh. “If you must know,” he said with an air of annoyance, “I gave it away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gadreel gaped at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I had to,” said the demon, running his fingers through the tuft of fur at the end of his tail, “My job was already done before I got here, and it’s cold and she’s expecting already, and there are vicious animals out there! I thought well, there’s the rub, if the humans are gone I’ve got no one to tempt and suddenly my job description just got a lot more difficult and a lot different. So I said, look, you obviously don’t want to stay here, but you might be needing this sword, so here you go. They tried to thank me, I vehemently refused. Told them to be on their way and not to let the sun go down on them here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave Gadreel a worried grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the most logical course of action, surely even an angel can see that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’m not sure it’s possible for you to do good,” Gadreel said sarcastically. Ezra didn’t seem to notice the tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I hope it isn’t. It’s been worrying me most of the afternoon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched the rain for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Funny thing is,” said Gadreel, taking a risk, “I keep wondering if I did the wrong thing. Angel can get into real trouble, doing the wrong thing.” He nudged the demon. “Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? Funny if you did the good thing and I did the bad one, eh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” said Ezra, schooling his features into something much more severe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Gadreel said as he watched the rain, “I suppose not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dark thunderheads rumbled and shook the ground of Eden; rain fell hard on the hills. The animals, now named, cowered in hiding from the storm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Far away, something bright and fiery flickered among the trees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was going to be a long night.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577000">A Chance, A Moment</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euterpein/pseuds/Euterpein">Euterpein</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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